Artwork preview

Sword Guard (Tsuba)

Gotō Mitsuakira

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dark gray sword guard with rounded rectangular shape and scalloped edge. Two oval-shaped holes on either side of a central elongated oval hole. The central hole has a dark blue interior with copper-colored metal at top and bottom. A gold and black design of a mythical creature or animal is on the bottom left side of the guard. A small gold signature or mark appears on the bottom right.

Artwork details

Date:
19th century
Medium:
Copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, silver, copper
Culture:
Japanese
Dimensions:
600 × 600 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette